The Progeny: Chapter 30

Caius felt like the whole world was closing in on him as he made his way down the dark streets alone. His chest was tight and throat was sore. He was back in the outskirts of the city and he had walked there from the middle of the country at mortal speed, needing the time to arrange the thoughts that were chasing themselves around in his head.

He had so desperately wanted to take Milah aside and talk to her but Guardian had clicked his fingers and she had followed him, turning into a white blur and leaving him alone amongst the dead cars. The backwards glance she had given him had almost made him crumble to the ground. The sorrow, the anguish, the guilt, everything hit him all at once. And then she was gone. For all he knew, it could be years until he saw her again. And he needed to see her to thank her. He had had no idea how much of an impact she had had on his encounters with Guardian but now he knew that forcing him to become a Maker hadn’t been Guardian’s chosen way of dealing with Caius’ treachery and if it hadn’t been for Milah talking Caius up, she could have been scraping him off the floor of the graveyard.

And she had saved his life yet again.

Why was she making it so hard for him to hate her? He wanted to hate her. She had taken away his mortality for her own selfish gain. She had done it because she had been lonely and needed a partner in crime. Apparently it wasn’t half as fun to scour the streets and rip apart unsuspecting humans alone than it was with company. And Caius had been her company for just short of eighty years, destroying towns in reckless abandon before he finally took a long hard look at himself in the mirror and realised he didn’t want to be the monster she had created.

He bit back a growl when his fangs threatened to burst through his gums and he fell back into a pocket of darkness where the street lamps didn’t reach. The streets were scarce which wasn’t unusual. Most humans tended to stay locked indoors when vampires were out and about. And tonight was a good night to let their fear get the better of them because tonight, Caius was looking for a new progeny.

A pain lanced through his heart so fierce it made him press his palm to his chest as if to calm it. He knew what it was and used to revel in the odd, twisted feeling. His tether to Evie. Not nearly as strong as it used to be. But still present. And fighting. The feeling surged through him, knocking against his insides as if in protest of what he was committed to doing. But he had no choice. It was either this or let the woman he loved die. And stay dead. Forever. Guardian would make sure of it.

But the thought of making another progeny made the backs of his eyes burn with hot tears. Could he really go through with it? Could he really willingly bring someone into this world of damnation? He remembered how hard Evie had taken it. How she had battled with him and ached for her old life. But of course, he hadn’t helped her. He had been in no fit state to be a Maker so soon after losing Catherine.

It would be different this time. He’d be there for his progeny and help them through the transition. Make them proud to be amongst the immortal. To be a nightwalker, as they used to be known as.

Was he really ready for that? Ready for all that responsibility? Being a Maker was a big deal. Do it wrong and you could end up with a rogue vampire on your hands. If that happened, Caius was sure that nothing Milah could say would stop Guardian from ripping his head from his body.

He had to pick the perfect mortal.

But how the hell was he supposed to know who the perfect mortal was? There was no way of knowing how one would react to becoming a vampire. It affected everyone differently.

Caius stumbled and fell against a wall, his head spinning and heart aching.

Too much pressure.

Too much.

I can’t.

I just can’t do it.

“Oh go fuck yourselves! The lot of you! I don’t have to deal with this shit!”

Caius picked his head up, watching through the strands of his hair as an angered teen stormed out of a building and stomped down the steps. His eyes flicked to the lit up sign above the door the teen had just slammed behind him. Dial-a-bite, at your service.

The teen stuffed a folded piece of paper into his jeans pockets and started tugging at his messy dark hair, pacing the street back and forth.

Caius closed his eyes to enhance his hearing. The boy was human. He could hear the heavy thud of his heart.

“Fucking arrogant fuckers,” the teen was mumbled under his breath. “The lot of them. Fucking fuckers.”

Caius scoped the streets around them. The few that had been out seemed to have disappeared as if the teen’s explosive language had made the scurry. Biting the inside of his lip, Caius approached warily.

“Are you okay?”

The teen spun to him and was backlit by the orange glow of the streetlamps. Caius focused his eyes and let the features rise from the blacked out form before him.

The boy was in his late teens. Seventeen at the most. His hair was much shorter than Caius’ but shaggy enough to flick and curl just below his ears. Deep shadows hung under his dark brown eyes and his skin had a sickly, waxen quality. He was sporting a thick black fleece, baggy jeans and boots.

“No. No, I’m not fucking okay!” he cursed, stabbing a pointed finger to the door of the Dial-a-bite service building. “The fuckers wouldn’t even look at my CV. Said I’m too young. Too young to get bitten? What the fuck?”

Caius’ brows furrowed. “You want to be a blood whore?”

The teen sighed but his shoulders were still bunched with tension. “Well, how else am I supposed to find a vampire? I can’t even go to their bars because I’m too young.” He heaved out a bitter hiss through his teeth. “Of course, I tried going around asking people on the streets if they knew of any vampires but that just ended up with me being whacked around the back of the head with a purse and being called a freak.” He winced and scrubbed the back of his head as if the pain had revisited him. Or maybe it still resided there.

Caius took another step towards him, inspecting his face. The teen went back to pacing and tugging at his hair, too caught up in his problems to notice Caius slowly gaining on him.

“You’re looking for a vampire?” he asked.

The teen stopped dead in his tracks and picked his head up to meet his gaze. “Yeah, you know one?”

“I might do. But first, I want to know why you seek one.”

The teen gulped and looked around warily. Caius nodded his head back. “We’ll walk and talk.”

Nodding, the teen followed as Caius headed back the way he had come from, knowing the streets he had passed were dark and deserted.

“I’m Caius, by the way,” he said when the teen fell into a step by his side. The teen was short, coming up to Caius’ shoulder. He kept his head down, watching his feet.

“Robin,” he mumbled, kicking a stone.

Caius steered down an empty side street. Robin didn’t seem at all worried about being led into the darkness by a stranger which Caius couldn’t help but be a little concerned about. In times like these, it was necessary to be a little paranoid.

“So, Robin, tell me why you need to find a vampire.”

“I want to be Turned.”

Caius stopped dead and Robin almost rammed right into his side. He spun around, his eyes wide and trained on the teen. Robin gulped and shifted awkwardly.

Surely this couldn’t be happening. There Caius was looking around for a possible progeny and he ended up bumping right into one? Coincidence or fate?

But he didn’t want to get excited too quickly. This boy clearly had issues and he needed to know exactly what they were before they went any further.

Robin cleared his throat, cutting through the silence. “Yeah, I know what you’re thinking. I mean, people get thrown into psych wards for this.” He scratched the back of his head, looking uncomfortable. “Are you going to call me a sick bastard and tell me to fuck off? Because it definitely isn’t the first time.”

Caius shook his head and the tension in Robin’s shoulders lifted ever so slightly. “Tell me why. Why do you want to be Turned?”

“Why do you want to know?”

“I can’t help you if I don’t understand you.”

“Then you can’t help me. No one understands me.”

Pain glistened in Robin’s eyes. Caius managed to catch it briefly before he looked down. “Try me.”

The boy sighed. “All my life I’ve felt inadequate. Like I don’t belong. I’ve been bullied all the way through school. And I don’t mean your typical teasing and tripping up. I mean, being beaten bloody and bruised.” His jaw clenched and his hands by his sides turned into fists. “It never occurred to them that it wasn’t my fault I had greasy hair. It wasn’t my fault my clothes don’t fit. It wasn’t my fault I smelt like piss. It was my fault I didn’t know how to interact with others properly. I didn’t ask for any of it. That was just the hand I was dealt with.”

“But what about your family?” Caius asked, remembering how distraught Evie had been when he told her she could never see the people she loved again.

Robin scoffed and looked up at him, his eyes blotchy and red with brewing tears. “My family? What, you mean my dad who OD’d when I was six and my mum who got banged up for dealing the stuff? That family?” He gritted his teeth. “I’ve been passed from foster home to foster home since I was ten. Never stayed in the same place long enough to grow attached. They give excuses like I wasn’t fitting in right or I saw things differently to them but I knew what they really thought. I was just a fucked up kid that went through too much too young.”

“You sound like you hate your life. But being a vampire isn’t going to solve that. It’s going to extend your life. And you were just complaining about being too young. If you get Turned you are going to be this age forever.”

“But it wouldn’t be the same life,” he replied, almost pleading. “I’m sick of being the victim. I wish people would just leave me alone. I never sought out the fights I ended up in, they found me. And being a vampire…people would fear me.” A twisted smile rose on his face.

Caius’ hope flickered out. This kid was trouble.

“You can’t just become a vampire for revenge.”

Robin shook his head vigorously. “I don’t want revenge.”

“It looks to me like you do. You don’t have to be a vampire to have a taste for blood.”

His bottom lip quivered and a tear leaked from the corner of his eye. “I don’t want to hurt people. I just want people to stop hurting me.”

But how long would that last? It’s one thing not wanting to fight because you physically couldn’t. It’s a whole new ball game when you were guaranteed to win.

“I just don’t want to be this person,” Robin continued, probably noticing Caius’ apprehension. “But I don’t want to die. I want to be born again as someone else.”

Okay, that did sound promising. Caius couldn’t help but let that spark of hope reignite. He had no ties to his life so he wouldn’t miss anything if Caius pulled him away from it. He had a scarred past and serious emotional issues but they could work on that. No one was completely clean cut. And truthfully, he knew that it would be impossible to find someone who was willing to give up their life but also be completely sound of mind.

Caius just stood, studying the kid appraisingly.

Robin squirmed under his gaze. “So, do you think I need a strait jacket, too?”

Caius shook his head. “I believe that I can help you.”

Robin scoffed. “Okay, that’s new. But seriously, dude, you can’t.”

Caius moved to stand squarely in front of him. Robin gulped and looked up at him, his eyes sparkling. “Is that so?” Caius parted his lips and let his fangs unsheathe with a click.

Robin seemed to shrink in on himself as all the tension in his body dispersed. His brown eyes grew the size of saucers and his jaw hung loose.

“No fucking way!” He bounced with a mixture of awe and excitement. “Are you shitting me?!” He was shaking with a stupid grin on his face as he went from slapping Caius on his chest giddily to fist pumping the air. “Dude, dude, you are…Oh my God. Seriously. Is this happening? Five months I’ve been looking for you, dude. Five fucking months!” He yelped a laugh and started running his hands through his hair. “This is happening. This is really happening. Are you seriously going to help me? Are you going to Turn me?”

Caius stayed silent and still as the kid bounced with glee in front of him. “We need to lay down some ground rules first.”

Robin nodded frantically. “Sure. Sure. Anything.”

“After you get Turned you’re not the same person.”

“I know. I know. I want that.”

“Will you let me talk?”

“Sorry.”

“Things are shaky at first. Your body is still in battle with the change. You’ll fear your new urges. To bite. To feed. To kill. But then you’ll just go numb. And that’s when things start to get very real. You can’t let that become you. You’ve got to find that thing that made you, you. I know you say that you want to change completely but you can’t let that happen. There has to be a part of you that stays human. If you let the monster take over-” Caius squeezed his eyes shut as memories flooded his mind of when he had lost control. When he had let the beast take over because Milah had encouraged it. “-it’s damn near impossible to come back from.”

Looking a little more sickly pale than he had been before, Robin nodded. “I understand.”

“Luckily for you, it just so happens that I am looking for a progeny. Someone to take under my wing. I will be your Maker.” Robin grinned but Caius’ stoic expression never faltered. “That means a lot more than just Turning you. I’m not just going to Turn you into a vampire and leave you on your own to carry on your new immortal life. If I am to Turn you, you will have to stay with me until I know you are safe to look after yourself. Do you understand?”

Robin hesitated for a moment. Clearly he didn’t know how the whole Maker and progeny thing worked. But then he nodded. “I understand.”

“I need to know that you are willing to accept my guidance. I can’t have a rogue vampire on my hands. I need to know that you are going to take this very seriously. That you are going to do exactly what I say. I’ve been a vampire for a thousand years and I have gone through a lot of struggles that I do not wish upon you. I was barely strong enough to pull through. I was nearly lost completely. I can’t let that happen to you. I won’t. But you have to help me.”

Robin nodded vehemently.

Caius still wasn’t a hundred percent sure. But he knew that the longer he took to Turn someone, the more danger he was putting Evie in.

“When I Turn you, you will be linked to me. I will be able to know your whereabouts at all times and you will feel me searching for you. But you won’t be able to find me unless I want you to. And if I want you to, I’ll summon you. If I summon you, you will have no choice but to obey me. Also, in times of great discomfort, we will share each other’s pain through visions or dreams. Those are called ‘Cries for Help’,” Caius paused, knowing the information was overwhelming and figured that Robin needed time to adjust. Humans knew very little about vampires. They knew that they drank blood and were susceptible to silver, a wooden stake to the heart and the sun, but other than that, they were clueless.

“I will always be there for you. I will help as much as I can. But it’s a two way street. You need to be there for me, too. The bond between us will be strong and you will be loyal to me no matter what. Even if you decide to hate me.”

“I would never hate you,” Robin replied, almost sounding offended by the accusation. “You would have given me the greatest gift I could ask for.”

Caius watched him for a moment. “You can return a gift.”

Robin’s mouth opened as if he were about to say something but thought the better of it.

“Are you still up for this?” Caius asked.

He nodded.

“Okay. Then we will proceed.”

A flicker of apprehension danced across Robin’s eyes and he shifted on his feet. “How does it actually work?”

“How do I Turn you?”

He nodded.

“I will feed you my blood and then I will kill you.” Robin flinched a little. “You need to die with your Maker’s blood in your system.”

“So…I actually do have to die?”

Caius nodded. “It will be painless. I promise.” Not like Evie’s death. His throat felt tight. Nothing like Evie’s death.

“O-okay.”

“Are you sure you want to do this? Once I do it, there is no turning back.”

Robin straightened, regaining composure, and stared into Caius’ eyes unflinchingly. “I’m ready.”

With his eyes still on Robin, Caius lifted his bare forearm and sank his fangs into his wrist. His own blood, hot yet lifeless, burst from the wound and filled his mouth. Robin gulped, his eyes widening. Caius pulled back, retracted his fangs and twisted the bloody wound in Robin’s direction.

He eyed it cautiously. “I have to drink from your arm?”

Caius’ gaze with dark and flat. “You’ll have to start getting used to it.”

Gulping again, Robin took a hold of Caius’ arm and pulled it closer to his lips. He sniffed and winced before closing his eyes and pressing his mouth hard against Caius’ wrist. Caius stiffened as Robin’s lips parted and he started drinking for the open wound excitedly, his grip on his forearm tightening. Caius’ eyes closed in bliss, remembering the intimate moments he had spent with Evie sharing everything. Their blood. Their bodies. Their love.

“That’s enough.” Caius yanked his arm away when his heart swelled so much he thought it might burst. Robin gasped and stumbled forwards, reluctantly letting go. Blood was smeared over his pale cheeks and chin. When he smiled, his teeth were red.

“Now what?” he asked.

Caius held either side of his head and Robin’s eyes widened for a fraction of a second with realisation before Caius snapped his neck and he dropped to the floor.